Christmas 2011

I suppose the end of January is a good time to write about Christmas, right? We had a wonderful Christmas morning here at our house. Ben got a bike with NO training wheels from Santa, just like he asked. Luckily, Santa thought ahead and brought some in a box, just in case. Good thing, since Ben got on his bike, immediately fell over and said, "We should put on some training wheels!" Ben and Abe got a tool bench from Santa too, made by Daddy. It was a fun day.

After we had opened all of our presents and Abe had tested out he and Ben's new toothbrushes, we cleaned the house, loaded up the car and went to bed early so that we could wake up before dawn the next morning and leave for Oklahoma. That's right. We drove 1200 miles with 2 small children and a dog. And you know what? It wasn't as awful as I thought it would be. There were more than a few meltdowns and a lot of whining, but it really wasn't that bad. Good thing, because we took the long way back home 2 weeks later, driving to Tulsa, then Louisville to see Uncle Rob and Aunt Annie, then to the farm in Virginia, and then FINALLY back to North Carolina. Crazy. But the end result was awesome. During our trip the boys got to see Grandma and Granddad, 3 uncles, 4 aunts, first cousins, Great-Grandma Logan in VA, 2nd cousins in TN, and good friends in Tulsa. We drove through 9 states and ate some stellar meals in most of them. And we found out that sometimes it's kind of fun to leave real life and live like gypsies for a while. 

We're Ready!

We only have a couple more little things to do, and then we'll be officially ready for Christmas morning! Here are some snapshots from our abode:

I made this wreath with my own two little hands using gardenia cuttings and lavender sprigs from our garden. I hung it proudly on our front door, took this picture, and then you know what? It dried to a crisp that same afternoon. Oh well. Lesson learned. Better stick to fake greenery for the front door.

Our tree--tabletop this year because babies and full-size Christmas trees don't mix.

A Christmas card "wreath" in our kitchen.

Stockings hung by the chimney with care...

And reindeer food! I made these for Ben's class party, and he was SO VERY excited. He told me it was "SO NICE of you to make food for the reindeer, mommy!" Yes.. well, I'm a giving person. What can I say:) The instructions are HERE.

There's been a lot of other activity happening too. We made these and ate them ALL, and they were seriously the best sugar cookie recipe I've every tried. I made a batch of these today, and they were so easy and so good. I think I'll be eating a couple more before bed:) I'm hoping to try this recipe in the next two days, and Joel will be making toffee soon. There are some super secret projects happening in Joel's shop, and it looks like two little boys will be getting their own work bench for Christmas, along with other things. Ben has asked Santa for a bike with NO training wheels and it looks like Santa is going to deliver on that wish, with some training wheels in a box JUST in case:)

And after the presents are unwrapped and we've finished phase 1 of Christmas 2011, we'll be packing up our car and hauling the entire family (including Ladybird!) halfway across the country to Grandma and Grandad's house in Oklahoma to have phase 2. Ya'll, we are crazy. I'm apprehensive about this trip, but I also realize it could be a great adventure. It's happening regardless, so I should probably focus on having a good attitude. Please pray for us:)

Merry Christmas!

Abe at 13 Months

I just had to post these pictures of Mr. A. I swear, this little dude just makes my heart melt. His favorite activity is sitting on top of the steps, just hangin'. Sometimes I'll be in the kitchen and hear him laughing, and turn around to see him dangling his chubby little legs from the top step, waving his arms and babbling on about something to an empty room. What a silly boy.

At times he'll stand on the step for a while, like he's debating whether or not to just start walking down them. At the last second, right when I'm starting to get a little worried, he always turns around and crawls backwards, as if to say "What! I don't know how to walk down these steps! Ya'll are crazy!"

Here he is noticing Ben riding his big wheel just outside the door. No matter how hard he tries, Abe just can't keep up with his older brother. How hard it is being the baby!

More birthday!

I thought that I should post more birthday pictures before Christmas. So here it goes!
I've been searching forever for the perfect white cake recipe, and debated between 3 different recipes before settling on this one. It was pretty good, but not "the one" quite yet. I think the reason I wasn't as impressed about it was because I over baked it by about 3-5 minutes--just enough to make it a tad dry. Oh well. Nobody complained, and Abe loved it, which is the most important part.
Our attempt at a family photo. I have two boys who are not really fans of having their pictures taken. A few weeks ago we had a family photo session with a professional photographer, and I don't know what I was thinking. Trying to get a 3 year old and an almost 1 year old to cooperate with anything much less actually look up at a camera in unison is a bad idea.
Mimi and Poppy gave Abe this push toy/ride on train that lights up and sings and does a ton of other stuff that is pretty cool to babies. Ben decided he needed to show Abe how to use it. Actually, Ben likes to "show" Abe how to use this toy almost every day. Sometimes Ben is kind enough to "gently" remove Abe from the train and remind him how it works.
Grandma and Grandad got him a drum with a bunch of musical instruments. His favorites are the egg shakers, and sometimes the sticks. Abe is a big fan of anything that makes noise.

I know that every parent says this, but I sincerely can't believe how fast the time has gone. I really feel like Abe was just a tiny newborn only a few months ago, and now that he's moving around it feels as though my time on bedrest and his first few months were just a dream. For some reason this birthday was hard for me. When Ben had his 1st birthday I felt nothing but excitement for the future. And truly, I think the months between 1 and 2 are some of the most rewarding. MUCH better than the first year, if I'm being honest. But I guess because Abram is our last baby I feel the passage of time more keenly. I don't want to relive his babyhood, but I have moments when I would love to just hold his little newborn body in my arms and smell his little baby smell one more time. But that's life, isn't it? Every season has it's end, and my season of babies is coming to a close. The exciting part is that the season of toddlerhood is just beginning, as Abe is walking about 40% of the time! He usually takes about 6 steps, drops down and crawls a few feet, stands up unassisted and takes a few more steps, crawls again, etc...He is approaching walking in such a gradual way that I'm sure we will hardly notice when he starts to walk everywhere.

We had his 1 year well check yesterday, and he is doing everything he "should" be doing at this point. Initiating games of peekaboo and chase, understanding most of what we say, using some words (he says "nana" for banana and for food in general, "dada" for Daddy, and "ah-ah" for uh-oh), self-feeding, walking...no worries! He's still a little peanut in the 10th percentile for height and weight, but that's a big jump for him since he has always been in the 3rd percentile. The pediatrician immediately jumped on the weight issue (cue to me inwardly rolling my eyes) but then quickly reversed course after watching Abe crawl, walk, climb and generally act like a little pistol for most of the appointment, including trying to throw himself off the exam table while the doctor tried to listen to his heartbeat and look in his ears. I think the phrases "he looks really good" and "oh...he's fine" were said a few times:) And since this is my blog I can brag a little...he also mentioned many times that Abe is very cute. And if the 70+ year old pediatrician who sees hundreds of babies a week thinks your kid is cute, you can be assured he speaks the truth:)

One more thing: when this pediatrician (the only one in our practice who had not yet met Abe) walked in he immediately said, "Well HELLO there pretty girl! Aren't you so pretty!" I laughed and laughed. And then I laughed some more. And I'm still laughing as I type this. He is pretty! God has a sense of humor, I suppose. I might never have a little girl, but at least I have my pretty boy!

Abe turns 1!

I'll write more later about everything that happened in between, but for now here is the beginning:

And the end!

Baby Abey gets his first haircut

It wasn't an official "big boy" haircut, but this little clean up made a big difference. I originally wanted to just let his hair grow and wait at least another few months before his first haircut, but after cleaning food out of his hair for the millionth time I decided it was time for a trim.

Before:

After:

I like it. He still looks like my baby, only not so trashy:)

Halloween 2011

How was your Halloween? Ours was pretty uneventful. Ben was more excited this year about the whole process. He went dressed as Batman and insisted that we call him Batman all night. Owen went as Batman also, and whenever they got to a new house one of them would say to the other, "Batman! Let's fly!" and then two Batmans would spread their capes and run pell mell to the front door. No shyness this year when it came to saying "trick or treat!" and no forgetting about that candy either, no sir! Last year Ben ate a couple of pieces and then I hid his bucket. He never once asked about his candy and I ate it ALL! That is not going to fly this year. Yet another way that 3 is so different from 2.

Abe went as Robin and he was VERY unhappy about wearing his mask. He had it on for all of one minute, and that was because I held his hands back from ripping it off. Ben was obviously disgusted that he was being made to sit for pictures. Batman doesn't take pictures with his mom. How lame. FYI--we borrowed Ben's costume and cobbled together Abe's from various things. The green jumpsuit is a pair of pajamas turned inside out, the red onesie I got at the thrift store and had my mother in law cut the sleeves off and baste the edges, the yellow belt is cut from an old onesie of Abe's and Joel actually drew a belt buckle on it with paint pen (but you can't see it), and we drew the black circle and yellow R with fabric paint pens. The mask and cape were borrowed from another costume.

Abe was in a better mood once he got the mask off. Here he is deciding that a mini pumpkin looks like a good snack.

And sweet little Abe again. I don't think he ate the gourd:) By the way, the jack o lantern was carved by my father in law. Isn't it good? Ben said he wanted a sad face, and Poppy obliged!

And in other Abe news, I made an appointment today for his first haircut! We go in on Friday. Can you believe this little munchkin will be turning 1 in less than two weeks!